I remember seeing jade and rose quartz rollers come on the scene a few years ago and like most of Instagram – I was curious.
With promises of lifting, tightening, toning and sculpting – it seems like pretty dramatic results for what is essentially a tiny, glorified, rolling pin.
But when I looked into it further and found that my suspicions were correct and it actually won’t do much of the above, and instead found the much more reasonable claims of product penetration and a light facial massage – I came around and bought one.
I mostly used my little jade roller to smooth out the wrinkles in my sheet masks if I’m being honest. Being a small handheld roller, it doesn’t apply a lot of pressure and it just felt like lightly gliding a stone across my face.
Being less than thrilled with the results was why I also didn’t buy into the Gua Sha hypewhen I first saw them make the rounds.
I understand the use of Gua Sha and facial massage have been around for centuries and the benefits extend far beyond their use in flatlays on Instagram – but I just didn’t think much of them at first, in all honesty.
I’d seen them used in a few YouTube tutorials and knew that people saw mild sculpting benefits, but I assumed they were a temporary at best and a placebo at worst.
It was only when dealing with severe bruxism and TMJ pain that I actually picked up a rose quartz Gua Sha on a whim.
I used the sharp edge of my Gua Sha to dig into my aching jaw and spent two episodes of The Hills aggressively kneading my TMJ muscle – and to my delight it actually helped a lot.
By the time Lauren and Jason were back together in episode three, I noticed a significantly more sculpted jaw and cheekbones. I promptly vogued in the mirror throughout episode four, enjoying my new Hadid-esque features.
Over the next few weeks I used my Gua Sha intermittently post-moisturiser and pre-retinol at night.
Being the ADHD Gemini I am, I went full-on with the pressure (and wouldn’t have been surprised if I bruised myself in the process), and tried to follow a rough lymphatic drainage pattern.
I didn’t find it a complete cure for my TMJ pain, but it did offer significant albeit temporary relief.
To my surprise, the facial sculpting held up so well between uses that my cheekbones and jaw did remain a little more defined for weeks.
Ultimately, I feel a little bad for passing judgment on jade rollers and Gua Sha.
As tools, they’re perfectly fine and I suspect their effectiveness comes down to technique, pressure, regular use, and the principles of facial massage as a whole.
Would I recommend? Sure, just don’t blame me if you get mistaken for Bella Hadid on the street – happens to me allll the time now.
Aisha Sini 